Pakistan’s performance in Asian Games 2010
It has not been a good year for Pakistan, as it has been passing through turbulent stage as not only devastating floods have inflicted unprecedented miseries on the people of Interior Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab but political turmoil, targeted killings in Karachi and high inflation have thickened the cloud of hopelessness.
But a better show at the Asian Games has brought some respect and joy for the nation. Pakistan won three gold medals in the Guangzhou Asian Games to keep the morale of the struggling nation high. In Hockey, where Pakistan have been struggling since long, the country won gold medal after 20 long years when they defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the final. Last time, Pakistan had claimed gold in hockey in 1990 Beijing Asian Games.
In squash team event, Pakistan clinched gold after 12 years when Pakistan's top players Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob beat a tough Malaysian pair 2-0 in the team event final fixture.
Last time, Amjad Khan had bagged squash gold in men's singles in 1998 Bangkok Asian Games when squash was included for the first time in the continental extravaganza.
The third gold came through Women's Cricket team when they ousted Bangladesh by ten wickets in the final. Though, India and Sri Lanka were not featuring in the event included for the first time but the victory of the women team will play a vital role in the development of women cricket in the country.
Pakistan also got two silver medals in the affair. World No. 23 Aamir Atlas Khan secured silver in squash men’s singles while Wushu player Ijaz Ahmed got the other silver in the Sanshou 75kg to better Pakistan's performance.
Similarly, in Snooker team event, Men's Cricket and Kabaddi Pakistan got bronze medals, closing the country's overall medals tally at eight which include three gold, two silver and three bronze.
Pakistan’s lost in men’s cricket in semi-final against Afghanistan and got beaten by Iran in Kabaddi, both of which came as a shock.
The win of Afghanistan shows the way the war-ravaged country has shown improvement over the years. The victory of the neighbouring country over Pakistan also surfaced the loopholes in the selection of the Pakistani Cricket team.
In Kabaddi, Pakistan's 16-17 loss is surprising. Pakistan is rated second after India in the game and should have made it to the final.
Besides some bright aspects of Pakistan, the country failed to deliver in Football, Judo, Baseball, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Boxing, Volleyball, Shooting, Sailing and Karate.
In Football, though Pakistan clinched a single point after 36 years in the Asian Games history when the Green shirts held Maldives to a goalless draw in their Group F vital clash after Pakistan’s experienced defender Samar Ishaq missed a penalty in the dying moments.
Pakistan were crushed by Thailand 6-0 and ousted by Oman 2-0 which forced them to finish at the lowest position in their group. Pakistan’s football team performance in the China Games is not encouraging and especially the 0-6 thrashing against Thailand in their opener should be an eye-opener for the Pakistan Football Federation.
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